A Life With Shadows or Sand?
by CaelanWorld
Summary: Hinata and Shikamaru go to Suna as diplomats. What adventures do they encounter there? Possible ShikaHina, GaaHina, or KanHina!
1. Off to Suna we go!

__**Hey everyone! Quick A/N: This is my first ever Naruto fanfic! I don't really have an exact pairing or plot planned out yet, I'm sort of letting things develop on their own!  
**

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_Byakugan._

Suddenly the vast desert didn't seem so endless. A little over five miles away lay the looming walls of Sunagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden by Sand.

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and gave a small sigh of relief. The village was no longer visible to her but she knew they were almost there. They had been travelling for nearly three days, and they'd be arriving on schedule. She signaled to their position to the team leader. Shikamaru gave a nod in reply and Hinata felt his chakra pulse, allowing him to run even faster across the sandy dunes. Both of them wanted a soothing shower and a comfortable bed. Sleeping on the ground two nights in a row was less than appealing. Hinata matched his pace and they continued on towards Suna in silence. Neither one felt the need to fill the trip with mindless chatter, comfortable in each others' presence.

Shikamaru and Hinata had been on several missions together before, but never just the two of them alone. In fact, it was rather unconventional for their team to only consist of two people. This mission however, was purely diplomatic. Konoha was negotiating peace treaties with two minor villages in Tea Country, and Suna was acting as the host. Tsunade had summoned them to her office two weeks prior.

_"Shikamaru, Hinata," Tsunade greeted them as soon as they walked into the room. "I have a B-ranked mission for the two of you."_

_Shikamaru straightened and stepped away from the wall he'd started to lean against and waited for the Hokage to continue. Hinata stopped playing with her hands and listened intently._

_"It will be fairly simple," Tsunade started once she had their full attention. "The only reason for the high ranking is because we will be negotiating a new foreign relations treaty with Tea Country. I'm sending you two in to finalize everything. I trust that you two are familiar with these types of functions?"_

_Shikamaru sighed and scratched his head. "Troublesome."_

_Tsunade glared at the shadow-nin. "What was that, Nara?"_

_Shikamaru looked up at the annoyed blonde. "I'm saying these type of negotiations are troublesome. Every time Temari comes to Konoha I'm her guide. Meaning I'm lucky enough to sit through every single meeting she has scheduled with council members, the bingo book committee, you, the hospital, the Chunin Exam committee, Konoha-Suna border patrol-"_

_"Okay Dammit!" Tsunade interrupted. "I get what you're saying. These type of functions don't exactly tickle your fancy but listen up!"_

_Hinata quickly averted her gaze to the floor, unable to say anything while Shikamaru shifted nervously anxious to get away as quickly as possible. It was obvious the Hokage was getting impatient and they did NOT want to be around when she finally reached her last nerve._

_"The reason I have chosen you two to represent Konoha in Sunagakure is because of your backgrounds. Shikamaru, your intelligence and insight is widely respected and I'll leave it to you to make sure we are getting a fair deal out of this treaty. Hinata, you are the daughter of the Hyuuga clan-head, and I trust that you know how to properly behave and interact with the other diplomats. A treaty with these other villages may seem insignificant, but you'd be surprised how quickly wars can grow from minor conflicts."_

_Tsunade paused and gave an appraising look to the two shinobi standing in front of her. She would trust both of them with her own life if need be. They were strong ninja in their own rights- physically and intellectually._

_"Do you two accept?"_

_"Hai, Hokage-sama," they both replied without hesitation._

_"Then I'll see you back in my office to go over the official details of the mission. You'll be departing in less than two weeks."_

Hinata and Shikamaru could both see Suna appear along the horizon as they got closer to their destination. Even though it took an hour, to Hinata it seemed only seconds had passed before they were waiting in front of the gates to have their papers checked. There was a good sized line to the entryway. It seemed like Suna had a popular bazaar and citizens and tourists from all over the place were coming and going. Hinata looked around in interest. There were plenty of colorful carts with different wares for sale.

Shikamaru caught her wandering gaze and focused his attention on some beautiful leather gloves. They would be perfect for Temari. He and the feisty sand kunoichi had been casually seeing each other for two months. Being her guide had forced them to interact with one another and Shikamaru found that he enjoyed her company. Then somehow they fell into an unofficial relationship. Shikamaru slowly reached for some money to purchase the gloves as he weighed the pros and cons of buying Temari a gift. He didn't want to send the wrong message- overreacting women could be quite troublesome.

Hinata wandered over towards some pretty hair clips and sighed. Coming from a prestigious clan, she had an abundance of hair ornaments, some hundreds of years old. However she never wore them, preferring a more comfortable laid-back image, the kind that wouldn't draw any attention towards her. Looking at jewelry always made her think of her mother, her only memories from a few family photos. They were all adorned with necklaces and intricate hairpieces. She took one last look at them before turning around and walking right into Shikamaru.

"Su..Sumimasen Shikamaru!" Hinata choked out, completely startled by the collision. "I wasn't paying attention!"

Shikamaru gave her an unreadable expression for a moment before smiling slightly.

"It's fine Hinata," he said amused at how flustered she was. "I shouldn't have been standing so close."

He looked at the jewelry stand she was standing by and assumed that she didn't want to waste her money. "Do you want me to buy something for you?"

Hinata was not expecting the question and was caught off guard."What? Oh no thank you! I was just looking!"

"Are you sure? You seemed interested in them," he continued. Shikamaru understood her reaction. He would never go out of his way to buy someone something- unless it was barbecue and the rest of his team conveniently forgot their wallets. Before he and Hinata left Ino had given him an enormous sum of money to buy her clothes with while he was in Suna.

_"Instead of sitting on your lazy ass all day in Suna, go out and buy me clothes, okay?" The blonde had said in a bossy tone. "I cannot believe you get to go to Suna after I've asked Tsunade a hundred times! The fabrics there are divine! And also-"_

Shikamaru had completely tuned her out at that point.

Either way he had tons and tons of money and Ino wouldn't miss it if he bought ONE necklace for Hinata or whatever. Besides, all of the coins she'd given him were heavy and it would be a lot less troublesome if he could spend some to lighten the load.

Hinata shook her head no, not having any excuses to give him. She looked up towards the gate and saw that it was almost their turns to have their papers looked over.

"Shikamaru!" She said, thanking her luck for a change of subject. "Let's go, it's our turn soon." She happily left the carts and headed towards the guards.

"Hn." He grunted in reply. Then he followed the female, eager to get inside the village.

**^O^/**

They followed their unnamed guide down the long hallway, several doors on each side. The guide was rambling on about how honored Suna was to host the diplomatic meetings and that he hoped they enjoyed the beautiful sights Suna had to offer.

"...And this is your apartment, Nara-san. Here's your key and you'll find your schedule for the next few weeks on your desk."

Shikamaru took the key with a polite nod and muttered a good night to Hinata as he went into his room and shut the door, clearly not wanting to spend another second with the chatty guide. Only Hinata and the guide were left in the hallway and Hinata silently cursed Shikamaru for abandoning her. Slowly turning around, she faced the beaming guide.

"Hyuuga-san, have I mentioned how lovely you look today?" He said with an obnoxious smile.

Hinata, completely deadpan, replied, "Where is my room?"

"Oh!" The guide hurried over to the door across from Shikamaru's rooms, "Right here Hyuuga-san, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

Hinata walked straight by the jumbled guide, snatched the key right out of his hand, and promptly shut the door behind her, no goodbyes were exchanged. Grateful to finally be alone, Hinata scanned the area she just walked into. She found herself in a fairly large sized room that was nicely furnished. She could see a door to the side that she assumed to be the bathroom. A quick examination proved her assumptions true and she immediately shed her sandy clothes and eased herself into the warm bath.

A hearty shampooing and rinse off later, Hinata jumped into bed, snuggling underneath the warm blankets. The nights in Suna were much chillier than Konoha so she was glad the comfy bed came with plenty of thick blankets. Tired from three days of travel, she promptly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

As the first few rays of sunlight shone through her window Hinata lazily opened her pale eyes. She was always an early riser. Being a Hyuuga meant that she was up at dawn for meditation and then sparring lessons from her father before she went to the academy. Years of repetitiveness had ingrained the habit deep within her.

After lounging in bed for a few moments, she proceeded to stretch her tired limb and deftly got out of bed. Deciding to wear something comfy, she selected some light sparring clothes and tied her hair in a quick pulled-back ponytail. Ready to go, her stomach rumbled a bit but she ignored its whining; she was going to eat breakfast with Shikamaru later.

Wanting a peaceful place to meditate, Hinata activated her byakugan to search the building. Almost every room was occupied. It seemed like all of the diplomats in Suna attending the conference was residing in the same building. It made sense that they'd have buildings designated solely to house their foreign guests- this particular building being located within quick walking distance of the Kazekage's offices. Across the hallway she could see Shikamaru still sleeping soundly. She smiled when he rolled over in his sleep, obviously nearing the end of REM sleep. He'd be awake in less than an hour. She shifted her focus back to the task of finding a meditation space.

The roof appeared to be the only unoccupied place in the building. Hinata immediately found herself near the top after coming across a tucked-away staircase. It was tricky to find and it was probably hidden so that the guests wouldn't be wandering all over the place. Blinking from the sudden onset of light from the sun, she stopped walking once her eyesight adjusted. What she found up there was breathtaking. The entire village of Suna lay out in front of her glittering in the light of the rising sun. The sandy buildings emitted several shades of gold Hinata had never seen before. She walked slowly over to the edge and quietly admired the view. Moments later, completely forgetting her morning meditation, she sat down and watched in awe.

**^O^/**

Subaku no Gaara sat awake in the darkness atop of the Kazekage Tower. He preferred this peaceful state of solitude. Night after night, he would stay up late finishing paperwork until everyone else left. Then he'd go out onto the rooftop and meditate. Sleep still escaped him after being an insomniac for the first 15 years of his life. Being a demon container had taken his toll on normal sleeping habits, and Gaara doubted that he'd ever be able to fall into peaceful slumber.

He revered the mind-numbing silence of the desert. Noises of the bustling village disappeared with the setting sun and he had the world of the night all to himself. Thanks to his sand armour the bitter cold winds didn't touch him. Gaara inhaled deeply, and then slowly exhaled, clearing his mind. He didn't have to think about his duties as Kazekage. That was reserved exclusively for the day when his office was swarming with attendants, diplomats, message-runners, ninjas awaiting orders... RIght now there weren't any ignorant people trying his patience. He didn't have to keep his guards up-they were actually up all the time, he was ready for an attack at any moment. But he could relax a little when he was alone.

The night soon passed and a dim light started to expand over the village. He absent-mindedly watched the sun's light transform the village around him as it did every day of his life and swept his gaze over his surroundings. There were signs of awakening villagers running about on morning errands and setting up shop for the day.

He promptly stood up and rearranged the few loose grains of sand back into a solid shell around his body. People called him paranoid, constantly wearing his armour, but he had every right to be. He had experienced countless attacks of his person growing up as a very young child. It was almost fortunate he contained the Shukaku- the one-tailed demon was able to protect him from sneak attacks that he didn't sense. Free of the Shukaku for several months now, Gaara still encountered attempts on his life. They weren't as frequent, but holding the title of Kazekage welcomed a new crowd of enemies.

Gaara turned to walk back to his office when some slight movement caught his eye. He focused his gaze towards the foreign residential buildings where he'd seen the dark figure. His eyes registered the person as a young kunoichi- one he did not recognize. He noticed her position overlooking the rest of Suna. She obviously appreciated the sight of the glowing village in the morning sun. A few moments passed and he averted his attention back to the oncoming day. He had several important meetings set up- including the write-up of a peace treaty with Konohagakure and Tea Country. The image of the girl wriggled its way back into his mind. He growled in annoyance. He didn't care about foreigners unless they were leaf-nin. He had precious people there. Shaking the girl from his thoughts, he turned around and continued the walk back to his office. There was a giant stack of paperwork demanding his attention.

**^O^/**

Shikamaru groaned at the sound of knocking at his door. The night had passed way too quickly for his tastes. He tried to ignore it but it steadily grew louder.

"Shikamaru-san?" Came the muffled voice of the stupid guide he and Hinata had the day before, "Shikamaru-san, can you hear me? Are you awake? The morning sun has risen! It is absolutely-"

Shikamaru realized that he was going to have to answer the door in order to shush the annoying guide.

So troublesome.

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**IMPORTANT: Should I continue this story? I'm debating on whom to pair Hinata with; Gaara, Kankuro, or Shikamaru! Otherwise I'll develop a little ShikaTem on the side if you'd like. Thanks for reading!**

**A/N:  
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**REM sleep is the last stage of sleep- the dreaming stage.  
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**Hai- yes  
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	2. Misadventures with the Kazekage!

**A/N: To avoid confusion, I CHANGED THE TITLE OF THE STORY. **

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"Where were you this morning?"

Hinata looked up at the shadow-nin as he casually took a long drink of coffee.

"Oh! Well, I was up on the roof meditating," she said, slightly surprised he was looking for her. "Why?"

Shikamaru stretched his arms out and gave a slight yawn before answering.

"That stupid guide ran to me blubbering that you were missing and it was apparent he was on the verge of a mental breakdown."

His eyes gazed right at her. "Since you were nowhere to be found I had to calm down the idiot and take him to the main office. So troublesome."

Hinata blushed at the slight blame Shikamaru was putting on her. She didn't want to be a hindrance to him.

"I..I'm sorry Shikamaru!" She rushed, "Next time I go somewhere I promise I'll tell you first!"

He sighed at her antics, she obviously thought he was angry with her. It wasn't her fault that Sunagakure decided to assign the biggest halfwit in the village as their guide for their stay. But he didn't bother to correct the misunderstanding.

"Hn," he grunted.

A few moments of silence passed until Hinata decided to speak up again.

"What time are we supposed to meet with Temari-san?"

Shikamaru forgot to chew and swallowed his piece of toast. He choked a bit before downing the rest of his coffee.

"Temari? Why are we meeting with Temari?"

Hinata him an odd look. "Didn't you read the schedule?"

Shikamaru groaned inwardly. Because of the sobbing guide earlier that morning he completely forgot about the schedule. He didn't go back to his room, opting to go straight to breakfast.

"Hmmm," Hinata thought aloud, "I'm pretty sure it said 10:00. Or was it 10:30?"

Shikamaru rubbed his head. That gave him possibly less than an hour to mentally prepare for his first encounter with Temari in over a month. He was going to meet up with her eventually, but he didn't think it was going to be for a few more days. He just thanked the gods that this was official business and that he wouldn't be forced to make casual conversation.

"Let's go then," he said standing up. "It's better to be early than late. It's almost 10:00 now."

He sauntered towards the exit, going over the route towards Kazekage tower in his head.

"Ah, Shikamaru, please wait!" Hinata said hurriedly.

Shikamaru paused and looked back towards the rushed byakugan user. She was holding a handful of bills and counting change on the table they had previously occupied. Shikamaru mentally smacked himself for being so stupid. They still needed to pay for the food.

Hinata moved to follow Shikamaru out of the restaurant before a slight ahem swerved her attention to their server, who was pointedly holding their food bill.

"I'm sorry! Of course we were going to pay!" Hinata rushed to explain. "Just a moment, I have money right here..."

She found that she was a few dollars short, forcing her to count through her change. Shikamaru hadn't noticed the bill either and he already left.

Come on, I know I have a few more coins, she thought as she checked all of her pockets.

"Hinata."

Her head went up at the sound of her name. Shikamaru was standing right next to her, his gaze seeking hers.

"I just payed, you don't have to worry about it." He moved, ready to leave the restaurant.

"B-but Shikamaru!" Hinata exclaimed as she followed behind him, "I should at least pay for my half!"

Shikamaru didn't stop walking as he spared her an amused glance.

"It's less troublesome for me to just pay for everything than to worry about exact change or what one owes the other."

"Oh." Hinata said, not knowing how else to respond. "Thank you then, Shikamaru."

He inwardly laughed at her polite demeanor.

"It was my pleasure."

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

"Stop it."

Temari spared her brother a glance before continuing her pacing across the room.

"If I annoy you so much than leave." She retaliated.

"This is my office,' He said deadpan, "You leave."

"Aaagh!" Temari growled. "Why does my life have to be so difficult?"

It had been three months since she'd last seen Shikamaru with zero contact. Both nins had found themselves swamped in work and missions. To say she was nervous to meet him now was an understatement. The intelligent leaf-nin would be able to pick up on her frenzied emotions immediately.

She was going in circles faster now. Gaara patiently sat at his desk, waiting for her to either stop, vent out the rest of her frustrations, or better yet, leave. She continued her pacing. He glanced at the clock and realized that she had obviously forgotten about her meeting. He sighed inwardly and stood up. This little show was ending now.

"Temari." He said forcefully.

Temari froze mid-step. That tone sent chills down her spine. As much as she loved her baby brother, from time to time she still remembered the blood-cold killer he used to be when she was a child.

"Yes Gaara?" She said, immediately paying attention.

Gaara stifled his laughter at his sister's sudden mood change. His outer appearance was completely composed and indifferent. "Don't you have a meeting with the Konoha diplomats in a few minutes?"

"What?" Temari screeched. She spun towards the clock in his office and swore. "I'm going to be late!"

She set in a dead-sprint out the door, resulting in a slight breeze that blew the papers off of his desk.

Mission accomplished, he thought with a smug look.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

Hinata and Shikamaru had been waiting alone in the conference room for about 30 minutes. Shikamaru sat slumped in his chair, head bowed down. He hadn't moved for several minutes and Hinata wondered if he was asleep. She looked around the room in complete boredom for the umpteenth time, scanning the pristine white walls, almost wishing there would be a fire or something that she was needed to help with. Sighing, she anxiously played with a few loose strands of her hair. They had been waiting for a very long time. She pondered asking Shikamaru about it but she didn't want to wake him. He was probably still tired after the rude awakening from their guide earlier that day. She was starting to get frustrated. Obviously they had shown up early but Temari was running late. Hinata was going crazy waiting so long. She stood up to go inquire to the woman at the front desk whether the meeting was cancelled or not, right when the door swung open and a red-faced Temari stood breathing heavily.

Hinata 'eeped' and sat down.

"I..I'm so sorry that I'm...that I'm late!" Temari gasped.

Shikamaru, who had indeed fallen asleep, sat up with a jolt. When he saw both Temari and Hinata with red faces, he slouched back down again. "How troublesome," he said with stretch.

"Hey!" Temari yelled pointing a finger at him, "I'm only six minutes late!"

Shikamaru remained calm and nonchalant as he replied, "Still, we are on a tight schedule and there are important meetings coming up. We arrived here early, to make sure that we wouldn't miss anything, only to have you show up late. It's very inconveniencing to us."

Temari gaped at him momentarily before dangerously narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, well excuse me for wasting your time!" She growled.

Shikamaru lazily looked in her direction. "I don't really care either way that you're late. I just want to get this bothersome meeting over with."

Temari saw right through his tactic of changing the subject. She was not in the mood to deal with his mind games. Out of the corner of her eye, Temari noticed Hinata trying to quietly edge her way out of the room. Temari instantly regretted taking Shikamaru's bait and blowing up. Hinata was a very sweet, passive girl and it was no surprise she'd want to get away from their fight. Any other day, Temari wouldn't have overreacted this way at all. She was slightly on edge seeing Shikamaru for the first time in months already. She didn't say anything as Hinata slipped out of the room and shut the door with a slight 'click' behind her. As soon as she was gone, Temari focused all of her attention on Shikamaru.

"What's your problem?" She hissed.

Shikamaru simply answered, "I'm not the one with a problem. Or a piss poor attitude."

Temari felt her fists tighten and she mentally had to hold herself back from whipping his ass. He was making this confrontation very difficult. "Why are you being so mean?"

Shikamaru straightened at that question, and regarded her carefully. "Why do you not want to be around me?"

Temari gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

Shikamaru nodded his head to himself, "For some reason, you didn't want to see me today, did you?"

"How did you-" Temari bit her tongue. How did he know?

Shikamaru 'hm'ed to himself as she confirmed his suspicions. "You were late, for one. I know you, you are NEVER late for anything, unless you're trying to avoid someone."

"That doesn't prove any-," she started.

"-Secondly," he continued. "You purposely looked everywhere else but me. You were trying not to make eye-contact. The first time you looked at me completely was after I insulted you."

"W-well," Temari stammered, unable to make up an excuse.

Shikamaru held up three fingers, "Third, your reaction now simply confirms that what I'm saying is true."

Temari visible flinched as Shikamaru hit home. There was a silent pause, neither one wanting to speak.

"What's the matter?" The Shadow-nin finally asked.

Temari resigned herself. There was no avoiding it any longer.

"I..I think we should break up."

Shikamaru gave a slight chuckle. "Were we officially dating? I don't ever remember putting a label on it."

"I know," Temari said defensively. "But we had been spending a lot of time together."

Shikamaru sighed. She was right. He sort of assumed that they were dating- he just didn't want to admit it aloud.

"Well is there a reason why?" He asked, "I didn't think that there was anything wrong with what was between us."

Temari slightly deflated a bit at that comment.

"I know," she said slightly ashamed. But..."

Shikamaru waited for her to state her reason after she trailed off.

"If there's nothing wrong," he started, "then why would you want-"

"I have a boyfriend." She blurted out.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

As soon as the door shut behind her, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. The tension building in the room was becoming quite stressful. She almost preferred the utter boredom she was experiencing beforehand. She glanced around the hallway and seeing no one around, set off in a random direction.

I wonder why Temari and Shikamaru were so upset with one another, she thought to herself. Temari was only a few minutes late and it wasn't like Shikamaru to insult someone so blatantly. In the end, they both started to blow the situation out of proportion. "Perhaps there is more to their relationship," she inquired aloud.

"Do you often talk to yourself?" A voice behind her asked.

Hinata whirled around and stumbled a bit. She hadn't sensed anyone there only moments before. Upon seeing who it was, she could barely form words to explain herself. Subaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure, was standing in front of her waiting for a reply.

"Ah..um..w-well, I.." She tried, "left, um, the meeting...a-and..."

She was panicking! Nothing was coming to mind. She couldn't tell the Kazekage that Temari and Shikamaru were arguing in the conference room, they were supposed to be discussing a peace treaty after all.

"I..bathroom.." she managed to answer weakly. "I w-was...um.."

Gaara interrupted her. "It's on the other end of the hallway on the right."

Hinata felt her cheeks turn bright red as she bowed low and started to move past the imposing red-head. How embarrassing it was to be caught by the Kazekage. And the bathroom? What a lame excuse! She scolded herself for not noticing his presence sooner. In fact, she realized, it may have been better to stay in the conference room, as bad as their fight was.

"Wait."

She froze mid-step.

"Hai? Kazekage-sama?" She asked nervously.

"Why did you lie to me?" He said quietly.

Hinata turned back to look at him. He was standing in the middle of the hallway with his arms crossed, head tilted slightly to the side awaiting her excuse.

"H-how did you know I was lying?" Hinata said, mentally kicking herself for lying. _He's the Kazekage! Of course he'd be able to tell she was lying._

Gaara didn't say anything. He seemed amused that she willingly confessed to the fib. He started walking away and Hinata realized he was walking towards the conference room!

"Kazekage-sama, wait!" She said desperately.

He ignored her words and stood by the door. Then he surprised Hinata by making a shh motion with his finger and beckoning her to listen against the door. Tentatively, Hinata moved her ear and listened.

There was a loud crash followed by a "YOU WHAT?"  
Hinata jumped away from the door. Temari and Shikamaru sounded like they were in a full-out battle! "Should we go in and help them?" Hinata asked.

She was taken aback when Gaara started laughing quietly. It was very small and short, but he was laughing, nonetheless.

"Kazekage-sama?" Hinata cautiously started.

His sea-green eyes full of amusement and mischief turned towards her. "I believe," he said slowly, "We should let their lovers' spat pan out itself."

"What?" Hinata said with disbelief. "Temari and Shikamaru..?"

Gaara didn't enlighten her question and simply said, "Let's go."

"H-hai, Kazekage-sama!" Hinata stuttered. Where were they going to go?

He lead her down several hallways and winding staircases. Hinata couldn't imagine how big the building was, until she remembered that a lot of buildings in Suna were interconnected, creating a huge maze throughout the entire city.

She had fallen into a slight trance, automatically following the redhead's movements as he travelled the maze-like passages with ease. Suddenly he stopped. And Hinata walked straight into him.

"Ah!" She gasped as she fell backwards.

Instead of falling to the ground as she expected, she met something solid and was abruptly upright again. She heard the steady whoosh of sand fall off of her body and stream back to Gaara- reforming his sand armour.

Hinata was beyond embarrassed. She was not making a very good impression in front of the Kazekage.

"Are you okay?" he inquired.

Hinata couldn't speak, though she managed a tiny nod of her head.

Gaara gave her an odd look and turned back around.

"We're here," he said.

"What are you showing me?" Hinata asked. "What is this pl- _amazing_."

Hinata followed his gaze and found herself once more over with a magnificent view of the Village of Sand. It was an even better view than that morning during sunrise. Even without the rising sun's rays, the village's beauty was nothing to sneeze at. It seemed to stretch on forever in either direction. Hinata realized they were in the very center of the village. Then she remembered who had brought her here.

Hinata whipped her head up to look at Gaara. His face was sincere and relaxed as he regarded his home. She found herself examining his visage. He was a lot more... peaceful, and kinder than she remembered. During the chunnin exams when they were genin, he was so fierce and angry all of the time. Hinata knew about the Shukaku, the one-tailed demon that was improperly sealed within him as a child, and how much he suffered growing up. After Chiyo-sama rescued him from the Akatsuki and gave up her life for him, he was literally reborn. With the Shukaku removed, he had more control over his emotions, and people weren't as fearful around him. He was able to gain their trust more easily and honestly establish himself as Kazekage. Hinata started to smile, truly happy for Gaara and how hard he worked for his village. He was such an amazing person.

Gaara felt the kunoichi's gaze boring into him. He pointedly ignored it at first. Finally, he glanced to the side and frowned in puzzlement at the smiling kunoichi. He had brought her up here to look at the village because she seemed like a quiet person who'd appreciate the view. He assumed she'd rather be up here than be stuck in the middle of Temari and Shikamaru's fight. But instead of enjoying the scenery, she was just...gawking at him. He felt his face grow red with embarrassment. He was used to others staring at him; one because he was the Kazekage and two because he used to be a jinchuriki. What was she looking at?

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

Shikamaru paused. _A boyfriend?_

He did not anticipate this type of development. Instead of feelings of hurt and betrayal, it was more like, _oh, okay then._

He realized that Temari was waiting for him to give some sort of response. She looked very uncomfortable.

"Shikamaru," she started, "I'm so sorry-"

"What a bother," he interrupted.

"Well," Temari replied, "I know you're upset-"

"You're wrong," he cut her off again. "I'm not angry."

Temari was starting to get frustrated again.

"What do you feel then?" She said with forced patience. She was trying to be understanding, she was the one who had broken off the relationship without saying anything.

Shikamaru gave a bored gaze.

"You see," he began, not knowing where he was going with this plan, "I'm seeing someone else too."

"You what?" Temari said with disbelief.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "We been seeing each other for about a month now."

"Yeah right, there's no need to lie to protect your pride as a man," she said with a laugh. "Who is she?"

He looked up at her with a smirk.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

* * *

**So I got rid of Temari xD Was it too abrupt? Some of my reviewers (love you guys!) pointed out that I had established TemaShika in the first chapter so it would be difficult to have a ShikaHina plot line. I'm still shaping the romance within the story, so you, the readers, can still decide on the official pairings!  
**

**What are your thoughts?  
**

**REVIEWS help me develop the story more quickly! Helpful writing tips or any preferred pairings or situations can be relayed to me via the review button!  
**


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